Agriculture: Subsidies

Anne McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what steps she plans to take to simplify the processes for making single farm payments as part of Common Agricultural Policy reform by 2013.

James Paice: holding answer 4 November 2010
	Reform of the Common Agricultural Policy (CAP) must deliver better value for farmers, taxpayers, consumers and the environment. Part of this must also be about developing a CAP that is simpler, and reducing the administrative burden on farmers from unnecessary regulation. Negotiations on CAP will begin formally in the context of a communication which we expect to be published by the Commission later this month. I look forward to working with my counterparts in the EU and Devolved Administrations in order to further the simplification agenda as part of these negotiations.

Bottles: Recycling

Martin Horwood: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs pursuant to the oral answer from the Prime Minister of 15 September 2010,  Official Report, column 878, on bottle deposit and refund schemes, what consideration her Department has given to the Campaign to Protect Rural England's report Have we got the bottle? Implementing a Deposit Refund Scheme in the UK; and if she will make a statement.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 8 November 2010
	We are currently analysing all contributions received as part of the review of waste policy, including the Campaign to Protect Rural England's report, 'Have we got the bottle?'.
	As part of this review, the option of bottle deposit refund systems has been raised by a number of contributors, with divergent views. We will review all evidence submitted before making any formal decisions.

Environment Protection: British Overseas Territories

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what plans her Department has for future  (a) co-ordination of and  (b) funding for the (i) Overseas Territories Environment Programme, (ii) Darwin Initiative and (iii) Overseas Territories Challenge Fund.

Richard Benyon: The Overseas Territories Environment Programme is jointly administered and funded by the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. On the Darwin Initiative, my right Hon Friend, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, announced at the recent meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, that the UK will not only sustain the existing level of funding, but now plans to increase it over the next four years. The details for the next round of the Darwin Initiative, including the plans for the Overseas Territories Challenge Fund, are being elaborated, and we are aiming to launch the next round as soon as possible.

Forestry Commission: Land

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what financial provisions she plans to make for additional woodland areas that become eligible for land management grants as a result of future sales of Public Forest Estate land.

James Paice: We are committed to maintaining the existing levels of support for private woodland owners for the remainder of the Rural Development Programme for England, which runs until 2013. This includes the English Woodland Grant Scheme administered by the Forestry Commission.

Forestry Commission: Land

William Bain: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the likely change in the area of woodland certified against the UK Woodland Assurance Standard as a result of sales of Public Forest Estate land.

James Paice: Certification under the UK Woodland Assurance Standard is voluntary. The entire public forest estate is certified, as well as 144,000 hectares of other woods in England. An assessment of any potential change will be explored following the consultation exercise on the future of the public forest estate which we plan to hold early next year.

Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Electronic Equipment

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what information her Department holds on the quantity of  (a) chlorofluorocarbon,  (b) hydrofluorocarbon and  (c) hydrochlorofluorocarbon gases which were (i) emitted to the atmosphere and (ii) recovered and recycled in the UK from refrigeration and air conditioning equipment in each of the last five years.

Richard Benyon: holding answer 8 November 2010
	 The Department for Energy and Climate Change (DECC) currently reports annual emissions of hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) in the UK Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Inventory, which is available from the National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory website at:
	http://www.naei.org.uk
	In addition to this, DECC funds the measurement of atmospheric gas concentrations of HFCs, chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs) at the Mace Head observation site. This data is available from the Advanced Global Atmospheric Gases Experiment website:
	http://agage.eas.gatech.edu/
	The HFCs observation data is used to verify the UK GHG Inventory and is available from the Air Quality website at:
	http://www.airquality.co.uk/reports/cat07/1010151420_ukghgi-90-08_Annexes_Issue3_r.pdf
	Under the European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register, available at:
	http://prtr.ec.europa.eu/PollutantReleases.aspx
	the UK estimates its emissions of CFCs, HFCs and HCFCs, however the data is only available for 2007 and 2008.
	The following information is held on quantities of CFCs recovered (and destroyed) in the UK:
	
		
			  Kilograms 
			   Recovered 
			  Ozone-depleting substance  2005( 1)  2006( 1)  2007( 2)  2008( 2)  2009( 2) 
			 CFC R11 374,677 285,217 315,940 231,269 198,795 
			 CFC R12 90,819 67,225 64,645 42,090 39,085 
			 CFCs-unspecified 1,200 59,095 10,454 16,352 - 
			 Total 466,696 411,537 391,039 289,711 237,880 
			 (1) UK figures. (2) England and Wales only. 
		
	
	No information is held on quantities of HFCs and HCFCs recovered and recycled in the UK.

Landfill: Refrigerators

David Wright: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  what information her Department holds on the average annual number of retail refrigerated display cabinets disposed of in landfill sites in the last five years;
	(2)  what information her Department holds on the average annual number of retail refrigerated display cabinets which were  (a) re-manufactured and  (b) recycled in the last five years.

Richard Benyon: DEFRA does not hold complete information on the number of retail refrigerated display cabinets reused, recycled or disposed of in landfill sites.
	The EC regulations on substances that deplete the ozone layer require ozone-depleting substances to be removed from commercial refrigeration equipment before it is disposed of. In 2009, seven treatment sites in England and Wales processed 1,594,962 refrigeration units (both household and non-household) for ozone-depleting substances. This does not include data for commercial refrigeration units which do not contain ozone-depleting substances, nor are these data specific to refrigerated display cabinets.
	The UK waste electrical and electronic equipment (WEEE) regulations encourage the separate collection of WEEE, establish minimum treatment standards, and set recovery and recycling targets. DEFRA does not hold data on the number of retail refrigerated display cabinets processed under these Regulations as non-household WEEE is currently non-obligated.

Nitrogen Dioxide: Pollution Control

Sheryll Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs when she plans to announce the outcomes of her Department's review of options in respect of measures to help achieve nitrogen dioxide limit values by 2015.

Richard Benyon: The Government are preparing air quality plans to achieve EU limit values for nitrogen dioxide (NO2). These plans will set out measures to achieve the NO2 limit value by 2015, and will be included in the UK's time extension notification under the Ambient Air Quality Directive (2008/50/EC). The Government expects to submit its NO2 time extension notification to the European Commission by the required deadline of September 2011.

Pollution: Liquefied Petroleum Gas

Katy Clark: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs what estimate she has made of the contribution of the use of liquid petroleum gas as a  (a) road and  (b) domestic fuel to meeting air quality requirements.

Richard Benyon: With regards to what assessment has been made on the use of liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) as a road fuel, I refer the hon. Member to the answer given in response to the hon. Member for Glasgow South (Mr Harris) by the Secretary of State for Transport on 8 November 2010,  Official Report, column 108W.
	No specific assessments have been undertaken to estimate the contribution of the use of LPG as a domestic fuel to meeting air quality requirements.
	Indicatively, LPG is used domestically as a cost-effective alternative to coal or gasoil predominately in rural areas, which are not connected to the gas grid. Emission calculations using the 2008 UK inventory for the domestic sector emissions, found switching from LPG to either gasoil or burning oil has a negligible effect across all pollutants, with very small increases in emissions of SO2, CO and NOx. These calculations also showed that switching to coal from LPG would increase emissions for the majority of pollutants. If all the domestic energy produced using LPG was completely substituted by coal, increases in UK emissions would be observed; 4% for PM10, 3% for PM2.5, 3% for CO, 2% for SO2 and 1% for VOC with a negligible effect on other pollutants.
	The majority of domestic LPG use takes place in rural areas where areas of exceedences of the limit values stipulated in legislation do not occur. The pollutants which are monitored as part of the Gothenburg Protocol and the National Emissions Ceiling Directive which the UK needs to reduce in order to meet its emissions ceiling are much lower when LPG is used compared to coal. However, the domestic sector is a small contributor.

Rodents: Henderson Island

Huw Irranca-Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs 
	(1)  if she will respond to the recent judgment by the UNESCO World Heritage Committee on the need for Government support for a rat eradication scheme for Henderson Island;
	(2)  if she will take steps to support the conservation of endangered wildlife on  (a) Henderson Island (Pitcairn) and  (b) Gough Island.

Richard Benyon: At its 34th meeting in July this year, UNESCO's World Heritage Committee commended the considerable progress made in planning the invasive rat eradication scheme for Henderson Island, and noted that further funding was needed to implement the scheme. To this end my right hon. Friend, the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs announced, at the recent meeting of the Convention on Biological Diversity in Nagoya, Japan, that the UK will be contributing £200,000 towards this initiative during the current year. This is in addition to funding for the project already provided by the Overseas Territories Environment Programme, administered by the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office. The Government will consider plans for carrying out similar activities on Gough Island as and when they are received.

Community Policing

Tom Harris: To ask the Secretary of State for Northern Ireland what assessment he has made of the likely effects of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review on the capacity of community policing in Northern Ireland to reduce the threat to security from dissident activity.

Owen Paterson: Following the outcome of the 2010 spending review, the Northern Ireland Executive is now aware of its funding allocation for the next four years. It is for the Executive to decide what proportion of this funding is allocated to PSNI.
	The Government are committed to ensuring the security of the people of Northern Ireland and it is essential that the Chief Constable has the appropriate resources to allow him to ensure that he can continue to tackle the threat. But we all acknowledge that that these resources would be better invested in dealing with community policing and issues such as antisocial behaviour and drugs, rather than on those who impose their views through intimidation and violence.

BBC: Commonwealth Games 2014

Ian Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport pursuant to his answer to the hon. Member for Perth and North Perthshire on 25 October 2010,  Official Report, column 10, on the Commonwealth Games 2014, what representations he has made to the BBC Trust on the BBC's decision to withdraw as host broadcaster of the 2014 Commonwealth Games; and if he will make a statement.

Edward Vaizey: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport has not made any representations to the BBC Trust on this matter.

Local Broadcasting: Television

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Culture, Olympics, Media and Sport what recent progress his Department has made on encouraging commercially-sustainable local television.

Edward Vaizey: Nicholas Shott, head of UK investment banking at Lazard, will shortly conclude his independent review on the conditions necessary for commercially sustainable local television to emerge in the UK.
	This will be published on the Department's website in due course, followed by a local media action plan due to be published in the new year.
	The recent BBC funding settlement has secured a total of £25 million to help fund the capital costs in 2013-14 for up to 20 local TV services, subject to any necessary regulatory approval. The BBC will also commit to ongoing funding of up to £5 million per annum from 2014-15 to acquire content from local services.
	In addition, the Government will shortly lay an order to remove the local cross media ownership rules to promote a strong and secure local media industry.

Developing Countries: Education

Russell Brown: To ask the Secretary of State for International Development what steps his Department is taking in conflict-affected countries to  (a) reduce the drop-out rate from and  (b) increase access to education for girls.

Stephen O'Brien: As laid out in "The Coalition: our programme for government", the UK Government will prioritise increasing access to basic services, such as health and education, for the world's poorest people; including a particular focus on the rights of women and girls. Girls who progress to secondary education have better maternal health, fewer and healthier children and greater economic opportunities.
	The Department for International Development (DFID) is currently reviewing its aid programmes to determine how we can achieve better value for money for the taxpayer, accelerate growth and achieve the millennium development goals. This includes a review of our emergency response programme, which will look at the provision of education in the immediate aftermath of conflict or natural disaster.
	With over half of primary aged children not enrolled in school living in fragile and conflict-affected state-a total of 39 million children out of an estimated 69 million worldwide-we recognise the need to promote education, particularly for girls, in fragile and conflict-affected states. As such, the Government have committed to spend 30% of UK ODA on supporting conflict affected and fragile states and tackling the drivers of instability by 2014-15.

Children in Care

John Hemming: To ask the Secretary of State for Education how many children  (a) were taken into care (excluding respite care),  (b) left care and  (c) were adopted in each of the last five years; how many were in care on 31 March 2010; and what proportion of children left care through adoption in each of the last five years.

Tim Loughton: The requested information is available as part of the Statistical First Release, Children Looked After by Local Authorities in England (including adoption and care leavers)-year ending 31 March 2010. This can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/rsgateway/DB/SFR/s000960/index.shtml
	Information on the number of children taken into care can be found in table C4, information on the number of children who have left care is found in table D1 and information on the total number of children looked-after as at 31 March is found in table A1. Information on the number of children adopted and the proportion of children who left care through adoption is found in table D1. These tables can be found in the excel link titled 'England Summary tables'.

Departmental Reviews

Tom Watson: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what departmental policy reviews his Department has undertaken since 6 May 2010; on what date each such review  (a) was announced and  (b) is expected to publish its findings; what estimate he has made of the cost of each such review; who has been appointed to lead each such review; to what remuneration each review leader is entitled; how many (i) full-time equivalent civil servants and (ii) seconded staff are working on each such review; from which organisations such staff have been seconded; and how much on average such seconded staff will be paid for their work on the review.

Tim Loughton: The Department for Education is leading six policy reviews, all announced since 6 May 2010. All are still under way. Details on publication dates, costs and staffing levels for each review follow (please note that secondees are defined as staff seconded to the reviews from outside of Whitehall).
	 1. Munro review
	The review was announced on 10 June 2010 and is intended to report in April 2011, with an interim report in January 2011. A first report was published on 1 October 2010 and can be found at:
	http://www.education.gov.uk/munroreview/downloads/TheMunroReviewofChildProtection-Part%20one.pdf
	Our current estimate of the cost of the review is £100,000.
	Professor Eileen Munro of the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE) is leading the review. She is supported by Dr David Lane, an expert in systems theory. Professor Munro and Dr Lane are paid by the LSE, and the Department is reimbursing the LSE for 80% of Professor Munro's salary for the duration of the review and 100% of Dr Lane's for one term, and they are also both entitled to claim reasonable travel expenses. There are 16.15 full-time equivalent civil servants working on the review, which is focused on improving frontline practice in child protection. Two people have been seconded from outside Whitehall-one full-time and one part-time-from Staffordshire county council and the National Children's Bureau. The National Children's Bureau secondee continues to be paid by them at no cost to the Department. The local authority employee is a Grade 16 (SCP 71-73) which corresponds to a current salary scale of £77,682 to £81,567. The local authority is continuing to pay their salary and the Department for Education is reimbursing them.
	 2. Review of vocational education
	The review was announced on 9 September 2010 and is expected to report in spring 2011. The cost of the review is yet to be estimated.
	The review is being led by Professor Alison Wolf, and her employer (King's College, London) is being reimbursed for her time. Professor Wolf is entitled to claim expenses. There are three full-time equivalent civil servants working on the review, including analysts, and no individuals have been seconded from outside Whitehall to assist with the review.
	 3. Capital review
	The review was announced on 5 July 2010 and will be completed by the end of the calendar year. The cost of the review is estimated to be up to £100,000.
	The review is being led by Sebastian James, Group Operations Director of DSG International, who is not being paid by the Department but is entitled to claim essential expenses. There are 11 civil servants working on the review. No individuals have been seconded from outside Whitehall to assist with the review.
	 4. Early years foundation stage review
	The review was announced on 6 July 2010 and is expected to report in spring 2011. The cost of the review is estimated to be around £100,000, with an additional amount of up to £250,000 covering associated research.
	The review is being led by Dame Clare Tickell. Dame Clare is chief executive of Action for Children, so DFE is paying a salary reimbursement to them for her time between July 2010 and March 2011 (up to an estimated £21,520 plus VAT). There are seven full-time equivalent civil servants working on the review, and no individuals have been seconded from outside Whitehall to assist with the review.
	 5. Review of the Children's Commissioner
	The review was announced on 12 July 2010. The expected date of report is end of November 2010. The cost of the review is estimated to be around £50,000.
	The review is being led by John Dunford, who is being remunerated at a rate of £500 per day for carrying out the review, and is entitled to claim expenses. Our expectation is that the role will take approximately 40 days. His remuneration is included in the overall budget of £50,000. There are three full-time equivalent civil servants working on the review, and no individuals have been seconded from outside Whitehall to assist with the review.
	 6. Children in Need census review
	The review was announced on 3 August 2010 and is expected to report in March 2011. The cost of the review is estimated to be around £7,000.
	The review is being led by Nigel Nicholds from Norfolk local authority, who is not being paid but is entitled to expenses. There are 0.1 full-time equivalent civil servants working on the review and secondments from outside Whitehall are yet to be confirmed.

Foster Care: Per Capita Costs

Bob Russell: To ask the Secretary of State for Education what the annual average cost to social services of placing a child in foster care was in the last five years.

Tim Loughton: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The information is not held in the format requested.
	The following table shows expenditure on fostering services in England in the financial years 2004-05 to 2008-09.
	
		
			  Expenditure on fostering services( 1)  in England: 2004-05 to 2008-09( 2,3) 
			  £ 
			   Expenditure on fostering services (gross)( 4)  Expenditure on fostering services (net)( 4)  Expenditure per week on fostering services( 5) 
			 2004-05 880,000,000 880,000,000 384 
			 2005-06 960,000,000 960,000,000 420 
			 2006-07 1,050,000,000 1,050,000,000 463 
			 2007-08 1,110,000,000 1,110,000,000 489 
			 2008-09 1,130,000,000 1,080,000,000 - 
			 (1) Fostering services includes all in-house provision, fostering services purchased externally, fees and allowances paid to foster parents and the costs of social worker and other support staff who support foster carers. For example, mainstay placements; link placements; permanence placements; temporary/respite fostering; placements with relatives, other than a parent, under foster care; arrangements; placed with approved prospective adopters pending the making of an adoption order under the Adoption and Children Act 2002; associated independent visitor costs and relevant contact payments. (2) Expenditure data for 2004-05 to 2007-08 are drawn from PSSEX1 data published on the Information Centre for Health and Social Care website. (3) Expenditure data for 2008-09 are drawn from Table A1 of the local authority Section 251. (4) Figures rounded to nearest £10 million. (5) Per week figures are not currently available for the financial year 2008-09.

Gibraltar: Spain

Caroline Dinenage: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent discussions he has had with his Spanish counterpart on  (a) the actions of the Spanish authorities at the La Linea border crossing and  (b) delays to UK- and Gibraltar-registered vehicles at that crossing.

David Lidington: We have raised our concerns about the Mayor of La Linea's earlier proposed plans to impose a charge on traffic entering/leaving Gibraltar with Spanish Ministers, making it clear that this is an issue for them to resolve. Our priority is to keep the traffic flowing at the border. We believe that the Spanish Government shares this goal. They have reassured us that EU and Spanish law will be fully respected and that they do not consider that the Mayor of La Linea's earlier proposed actions would be legal. The Mayor has not implemented his proposals. However we continue to keep in close contact with the Government of Gibraltar and to monitor the situation at the border.

Iran: Baha'i Faith

Meg Munn: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs what recent representations he has made to the government of Iran on the detention of members of the Baha'i community in that country; and if he will make a statement.

Alistair Burt: We remain concerned for the Baha'i community in Iran. I met the Iranian ambassador on 20 September to discuss this and a range of other human rights issues. I made it clear that the UK remains extremely concerned by the sentencing of the seven Baha'i leaders to 20 years imprisonment, which we understand has now been reduced to 10 years. As my right hon. Friend the Foreign Secretary said in his statement of 11 August 2010, these sentences are unacceptable. Both the UK and the international community deplore the victimisation of the Baha'i faith by the Iranian state. We will continue to remind Iran of the international commitments it has freely signed up to, and urge the Iranian Government to cease its harassment of the Baha'i minority, and to respect the rights of all minority groups.

Electricity Generation

Graeme Morrice: To ask the Secretary of State for Energy and Climate Change what assessment he has made of the electricity production technologies which would  (a) enable affordable domestic and industrial prices and  (b) enable the UK to meet its emissions reduction targets.

Gregory Barker: The following table is taken from Mott Macdonald (2010) and gives levelised cost estimates (average generation cost per megawatt-hour) for new build plants in the main large-scale electricity generation technologies in the UK, including both fossil fuel and low carbon plant, at current engineering, procurement and construction (EPC) contract prices.
	It should be noted that for the purposes of presentation, the table only gives either 'FOAK' (first-of-a-kind) prices or 'NOAK' (nth-of-a-kind) prices for each technology.
	
		
			  Case 1: 10% discount rate, 2009 project start at today's EPC prices, with mixed FOAK/NOAK 
			  Levelised cost  Gas CCGT  Gas CCGT with CCS (FOAK)  ASC Coal  ASC Coal with CCS (FOAK)  Coal IGCC (FOAK)  Coal IGCC with CCS (FOAK)  Onshore wind  Offshore wind (FOAK)  Offshore wind  R3 (FOAK)  Nuclear PWR (FOAK) 
			 Capital costs 12.4 29.8 33.4 74.1 61.7 82.0 79.2 124.1 144.6 77.3 
			 Fixed operating costs 3.7 7.7 8.6 18.6 9.7 17.7 14.6 36.7 45.8 12.2 
			 Variable operating costs 2.3 3.6 2.2 4.7 3.4 4.6 - - - 2.1 
			 Fuel costs 46.9 65.0 19.9 28.7 20.3 28.3 - - - 5.3 
			 Carbon Costs 15.1 2.1 40.3 6.5 39.6 5.5 - - - - 
			 Decomm and waste fund - - - - - - - - - 2.1 
			 CO2 transport and storage - 4.3 - 9.6 - 9.5 - - - - 
			 Steam revenue - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Total levelised cost 80.3 112.5 104.5 142.1 134.6 147.6 93.9 160.9 190.5 99.0 
			  Source: Mott Macdonald (2010), UK Electricity Generation Costs Update, available at:  http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/statistics/projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf 
		
	
	As new technologies are deployed it is likely that costs will fall due to learning. The following table sets out the estimated levelised costs for projects started in 2017 with the assumption that all technologies have reached 'nth of a kind' status.
	
		
			  Case 5: 10% discount rate, 2017 start at projected EPC prices, all NOAK 
			  Levelised cost  Gas CCGT  Gas CCGT with CCS  ASC Coal  ASC Coal with CCS  Coal IGCC  Coal IGCC with CCS  Onshore wind  Offshore wind  Offshore wind R3  Nuclear PWR 
			 Capital costs 11.2 20.7 28.7 47.8 33.7 46.5 71.7 89.4 97.0 49.6 
			 Fixed operating costs 3.7 6.0 8.6 13.8 8.0 12.3 - 23.0 30.9 9.1 
			 Variable operating costs 2.3 3.6 2.2 3.7 2.7 3.6 - - - 1.8 
			 Fuel costs 49.8 64.7 19.9 27.6 19.6 27.2 - - - 5.2 
			 Carbon costs 29.6 4.1 73.8 11.4 72.0 10.0 - - - - 
			 Decomm and waste fund - - - - - - - - - 2.1 
			 CO2 transport and storage - 3.5 - 7.6 - 7.5 - - - - 
			 Steam revenue - - - - - - - - - - 
			 Total levelised cost 96.5 102.6 133.2 111.9 136.0 107.1 86.3 112.4 127.9 67.8 
			  Source: Mott Macdonald (2010), UK Electricity Generation Costs Update, available at:  http://www.decc.gov.uk/assets/decc/statistics/projections/71-uk-electricity-generation-costs-update-.pdf 
		
	
	It should be noted that the estimates of levelised costs for different types of electricity generation are highly sensitive to the assumptions used for capital costs, fuel and EU ETS allowance prices, operating costs, load factor, and other drivers. Meaning that there is significant uncertainty around these estimates.

Crossrail: Abbey Wood

Teresa Pearce: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what discussions his Department has had with Southeastern Railway on interchange facilities with Crossrail services at Abbey Wood station; and what step-free interchange facilities he expects to be available in that station when it is rebuilt.

Theresa Villiers: holding answer 4 November 2010
	Crossrail Ltd is working with Network Rail, which is responsible for the construction of the Crossrail. On Network Works, including Abbey Wood station, Network Rail is leading the discussions with Southeastern on the impacts on and improvements to the railway as a result of these works.
	The Crossrail station at Abbey Wood is expected to include full provision for people with restricted mobility, with lifts from ground level and road over-bridge access to ticket halls and the Crossrail platforms.

Ferries: Highlands and Islands

Angus MacNeil: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what steps he plans to take to ensure adequate marine emergency coverage for the Highlands and Islands following the removal of the Anglian Prince tug boat in 2011.

Michael Penning: holding answer 4 November 2010
	The current contract for the provision of emergency towing vessels at public expense will not be renewed when it expires in September 2011. Between now and the end of the contract, the Maritime and Coastguard Agency intends to work with the shipping and wider maritime industries, and also with local interested parties, local authorities and the Scottish Government, to explore options for ensuring the effective operation of commercial arrangements could operate in the future.

Railways: Fares

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport whether he has made a recent estimate of the likely effect on his Department's progress on carbon dioxide emission targets of proposed increases in rail fares.

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what assessment has been made of the likely effects on the environment of his proposals to increase the cap on regulated rail fares to three per cent. above the retail price index for three years from 2012.

Theresa Villiers: The Government are committed to ensuring that transport plays a full role in delivering the UK's climate change targets. We will continue to monitor the carbon impact of policy and investment decisions to ensure we remain on course to deliver those targets.
	Emissions of greenhouse gases from the transport sector are projected to fall significantly over the coming decade, in large part as a result of improvements to the fuel efficiency of new vehicles and the uptake of low carbon fuels.
	The Department for Transport has not made a detailed estimate of the likely effects of increases in rail fares on transport emissions. Although the announced fare increases may encourage some modal shift away from rail, the overall impact on carbon emissions is likely to be small. The fare increase was one element of the spending review announcement. Other measures such as the local sustainable transport fund and the package of support for ultra low carbon vehicles are expected to lead to reductions in carbon emissions.

Railways: Fares

Zac Goldsmith: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport what estimate his Department has made of the likely effect on rail passenger numbers of the proposed increase in the cap on regulated rail fares to three per cent. above the retail price index for three years from 2012.

Andrew Gwynne: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport 
	(1)  what estimate his Department has made of the likely effect on the level of passenger rail use of an RPI+3 formula for fares;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the number of passengers using rail services of the proposed increases in rail fares.

Theresa Villiers: The Department for Transport expects that passenger journeys will continue to increase during the period from 2012 to 2014 when fares are due to rise by 3% above the retail price index (RPI) of inflation. It is estimated that the level of patronage will be up to 4% lower than it would have been had the cap remained at RPI+1%.

Transport for London: Grants

Graham Stringer: To ask the Secretary of State for Transport how much his Department allocated in grant to Transport for London (TFL) for 2010-11  (a) prior to and  (b) after his Department's in-year spending reductions; and what such funding his Department plans to allocate (i) in general grant, (ii) to Crossrail, (iii) to Metronet and (iv) under each other grant flow to TFL in each of the next three years.

Theresa Villiers: Prior to in-year savings, funding for Transport for London in 2010-11 consisted of:
	GLA transport grant of £2,871,589,000
	Two capital grants towards costs associated with the former Metronet PPP, totalling £392,500,000
	London overground grant of £24,932,347
	A small number of other smaller payments
	As a result of in-year savings, total funding for TfL in 2010-11 was reduced by £108,000,000.
	The Secretary of State set out his intentions in relation to funding for Transport for London, including Crossrail and the companies into which the former Metronet PPP contracts have been transferred, for the years 2011-12 to 2014-15 in a letter to the Mayor of London dated 20 October. This letter has been published on the Department's website at:
	http://www.dft.gov.uk/press/letters/tflfunding/

Departmental Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what estimate he has made of the number of redundancies arising from the spending reductions proposed in the comprehensive spending review in respect of  (a) his Department,  (b) its non-departmental public bodies and  (c) other public bodies which are dependent on his Department for funding.

Francis Maude: In respect of  (a) we expect the size of the Cabinet Office to reduce by c20% given its current functions over the spending review period. Natural turnover will deliver some of the reductions, however the Department is planning a voluntary departure programme in 2010-11 to support the reductions needed to achieve this target.
	In respect of  (b) and  (c), the recent review of public bodies recommended that seven of the 14 Cabinet Office's public bodies should no longer remain NDPBs:
	Civil Service Appeals Board Government Strategic;
	Marketing Advisory Board;
	Main Honours Advisory Committee;
	Security Commission;
	Office for Civil Society Advisory Board;
	Capacitybuilders;
	Commission for the Compact;
	The first five are small advisory bodies supported by Cabinet Office staff who will be absorbed back into the Cabinet Office and/or redeployed to other work.
	There are no plans for redundancies in respect of staff supporting the work of the remaining advisory bodies-Advisory Committee on Business Appointments, House of Lords Appointments, Security Vetting Appeals Panel, and the Committee for Standards in Public Life. The remaining Cabinet Office public body, the Boundary Commission for England has staff seconded from the Cabinet Office. The staffing of the Commission is projected to increase over the 2011-12 period to meet the requirements of the next parliamentary boundary review and to revert to a staffing level comparable to that used for past reviews.
	Alternative arrangements for the work of Capacitybuilders and the Commission for the Compact are currently under review.
	The Central Office of Information has recently completed a redundancy exercise which was not part of the comprehensive spending review. 287 staff exits were made through a compulsory exercise, mitigated with some voluntary redundancies.
	Any further changes to the status of the Central Office of Information are under consideration as part of a review which will report at the end of November.
	The status of the National School of Government remains under consideration and will be announced in due course.
	There are currently no plans for redundancies at the National School of Government following the spending review settlement. Any decisions about the National School of Government are expected to be made as part of the arm's length bodies review.

Government Departments: Procurement

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether the 25% aspiration for the award of Government contracts to small and medium-sized enterprises applies to each Government Department or to the total number of such contracts awarded.

Francis Maude: holding answer 8 November 2010
	The aspiration is for 25% of the total number of government contracts to go to SMEs. It is not our intention that each Department should award 25% of its contracts to SMEs.

Public Bodies (Reform) Bill 2010-2011: Wales

Jonathan Edwards: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office 
	(1)  what recent discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials on the likely effects on public bodies in Wales of the implementation of the provisions of the Public Bodies (Reform) Bill;
	(2)  what recent discussions he has had with Welsh Assembly Government  (a) Ministers and  (b) officials on the likely effects of the provisions of the Public Bodies (Reform) Bill on legislative competences in Wales (i) prior to and (ii) after a referendum on Part IV of the Government of Wales Act 2006.

Francis Maude: There has been an extensive process of communication and dialogue with the devolved Administrations in the development of proposals for public bodies reform. Cabinet Office officials have been in regular contact with counterparts in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland. I have also corresponded with colleagues in the devolved Administrations on a number of occasions prior to publication of the Public Bodies Bill.

Public Bodies Bill

Gordon Marsden: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office what consideration he gave to making provision in the Public Bodies Bill [Lords] for changes to the Skills Funding Agency.

Francis Maude: holding answer 9 November 2010
	The scope of the Public Bodies Bill is restricted to non-departmental public bodies, non-ministerial departments and public corporations. The Skills Funding Agency is an Executive Agency of the Department for Business Innovation and Skills and therefore out of scope of this review process and the Bill.

Public Expenditure

Lisa Nandy: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether his Department has established processes to monitor any effects of proposed reductions in its expenditure.

Francis Maude: My Department is assessing the affects of its spending review settlement.

Voluntary Organisations: Local Government

Anas Sarwar: To ask the Minister for the Cabinet Office whether he plans to review the guidelines on commissioning between local government and the voluntary sector.

Nick Hurd: The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government has responsibility for local government. The Coalition's Programme for Government includes a commitment to promote the radical devolution of power and greater financial autonomy to local government and community groups. The Government also runs a national training programme for public sector commissioners which includes those from local authorities. The Government will also be building on the work of the Partnership Improvement Programme (PIP), the new package will develop support to statutory partners and civil society organisations in working together on issues including commissioning practice.

Access to Work Programme

Rehman Chishti: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions if he will extend the Access to Work programme to cover the costs associated with  (a) attendance at interviews and  (b) participation in work experience placements and internships.

Maria Miller: The Access to Work programme can fund the costs of an interpreter or advocate assisting a disabled person to communicate at an interview. There are no plans at present to extend the support available from the programme to cover the costs of travelling to an interview.
	The Jobcentre Plus Fares to Interview scheme is available to help disabled people with other costs associated with job interviews including re-imbursement of travel expenses, subsistence allowance for longer periods away from home and compensation for loss of earnings.
	The Access to Work programme can fund the additional costs of support required to allow a disabled person to take part in a work trial arranged by Jobcentre Plus. Access to Work support is only available to people in paid employment and so does not support work placements or internships where the individual works on a voluntary basis or receives benefits or training allowances.

Employment: Disability

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what impact assessment his Department has undertaken of the  (a) duty to make reasonable adjustments under the Equality Act 2010,  (b) disability equality duty under the Equality Act 2010 and  (c) implementation of Article 27 of the UN Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities; and what mechanisms are in place to ensure his Department's programmes to assist disabled people in employment are compliant with that legislation.

Maria Miller: The coalition agreement made clear this Government's commitment to equality for disabled people. We believe that disabled people should have the same opportunities as non-disabled people to fully participate in society.
	In general, the provisions in the Equality Act 2010 which require reasonable adjustments to be made for disabled people have been carried forward from the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. The Equality Act 2010 introduced a single threshold at which the duty to make reasonable adjustments arises and this change is dealt with in the impact assessment(1) and equality impact assessment(2) of the Equality Act. These assessments also assess the introduction of a new public sector duty, which will replace the existing disability equality Duty in April 2011.
	The Government Equalities Office is currently consulting on the public sector equality duty. Details of the impact assessment and equality impact assessment are included in the published consultation document(3).
	The Government take their obligations under the United Nations convention on the rights of disabled people into account as they develop policies and programmes. The report that Government will make to the United Nations next year will demonstrate how across Departments we have taken forward implementation in respect of article 27 and the convention as a whole.
	The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) undertakes equality impact assessment on any new policies or changes to existing policies and practice. A well established process helps policy makers develop equality impact assessments based on a strong evidence base. This includes guidance on including information gathered from consultation and involvement with organisations.
	Currently, equality impact assessments are being developed for both Work Choice implementation and Access to Work and will appear on the DWP website in due course.
	(1)( )http://www.equalities.gov.uk/pdf/Equality%20Act%20Impact.pdf
	(2)( )http://www.official-documents.gov.uk/document/other/97801085 08714/9780108508714.pdf
	(3) Equality Act 2010: The public sector Equality Duty: Promoting equality through transparency:
	http://www.equalities.gov.uk/pdf/402461_GEO_EqualityAct2010ThePublicSectorEqualityDuty_acc.pdf

Housing Benefit

Karen Buck: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  what estimate he has made of the proportion of local housing allowance claimants in  (a) single rooms,  (b) one bedroom properties,  (c) two bedroom properties,  (d) three bedroom properties and  (e) four bedroom properties and above whose monthly allowance does not cover the cost of their rental payments;
	(2)  what estimate he has made of the average shortfall in cases where local housing allowance does not cover the full rent payable in each region in the latest period for which figures are available;
	(3)  what estimate he has made of the average difference between local housing allowance claimed and rent payable by persons whose allowance does not cover the cost of their rental payments in  (a) all properties and  (b) properties with (i) a single room, (ii) one bedroom, (iii) two bedrooms, (iv) three bedrooms and (v) four bedrooms or more in the latest period in which figures are available.

Steve Webb: In August 2009, 48% of those receiving housing benefit under the local housing allowance arrangements had a shortfall in their rent caused by the customer's contractual rent being higher than the appropriate local housing allowance rate.
	Work is underway to update this information and we aim to include this in the publication on a "two-year review of the local housing allowance" due out later this year.

Mortgages: Government Assistance

Caroline Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions 
	(1)  if he will estimate the number of people in receipt of support for mortgage interest who have mortgages with interest rates higher than 3.63 per cent.; if he will estimate the proportion of such people who have mortgages with interest rates higher than 3.63 per cent. due to having  (a) low income and  (b) poor credit history;
	(2)  how many people were in receipt of support for mortgage interest payments; and how many such people were also receiving  (a) pension credit,  (b) jobseeker's allowance and  (c) income support on the latest date for which figures are available;
	(3)  with reference to his Department's Equality Impact Assessment: Support for Mortgage Interest; page 6, paragraph 1, what the evidential basis is for the estimate that just over half of all support for mortgage interest customers will continue to have their eligible mortgage interest outgoings fully met by their benefit awards;
	(4)  with reference to his Department's Equality Impact Assessment: Support for Mortgage Interest; page 7, paragraph 4, if he will give numerical estimates for the references to  (a) lion's share and  (b) a relatively small level of arrears.

Steve Webb: The latest available figures on the number of people claiming support for mortgage interest through income-based jobseeker's allowance, income support and pension credit are from February 2010, and are given as follows.
	
		
			  Caseload (February 2010)  Number 
			 Jobseeker's allowance 34,000 
			 Income support 75,000 
			 Pension credit 117,000 
			 All 227,000 
			  Source: Department for Work and Pensions, Information Directorate, 5% samples. 
		
	
	Support for mortgage interest is also payable through awards of income-based employment and support allowance, although the Department does not collect administrative data on how many of these customers would be receiving support for their eligible mortgage interest costs.
	The Department does not collect administrative data on the actual mortgage rates paid by support for mortgage interest customers, or data on the proportion of customers with interest rates higher than 3.63% due to having low income or poor credit history.
	In November 2009, we received a sample of data on almost 6,000 support for mortgage interest claimants (around 3% of the total caseload) from 16 different mortgage lenders, collected on our behalf by Council of Mortgage Lenders and HM Treasury. While the data are not a statistically robust sample and any results should be considered illustrative, and it is likely that the distribution of mortgage rates will have changed since the data were collected, they can provide a useful insight into the mortgages of support for mortgage interest customers.
	This sample indicates that around 115,000 of the current 227,000 support for mortgage interest customers would have mortgage interest rates higher than 3.63%.
	Using the same sample, we estimate that just over 50% of support for mortgage interest customers would have mortgage interest liabilities of lower than 3.67% (the April 2010 estimate of the average mortgage rate published by the Bank of England), and therefore continue to have their eligible mortgage interest outgoings fully met by their benefit awards.
	Numerical estimates on the proportion of eligible mortgage interest that we would be covered under a standard interest rate of 3.67% are given in table 3 of the equality impact assessment published on the departmental website.
	http://www.dwp.gov.uk/docs/support-for-mortgage-interest.pdf

Social Security Benefits: Disability

Ian Swales: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions how many people were in receipt of  (a) disability living allowance and  (b) incapacity benefit in Redcar constituency on the latest date for which figures are available.

Maria Miller: "Caseloads for selected benefits by Parliamentary Constituencies, February 2010" is available in the House of Commons Library and includes figures for incapacity benefit and disability living allowance. The information is reproduced in the following table.
	
		
			  Recipients of disability living allowance and incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance as at February 2010, Redcar parliamentary constituency 
			   Number 
			 Incapacity benefit/severe disablement allowance (in payment) 4,600 
			 Disability living allowance (in payment) 6,560 
			  Notes: 1. Caseload figures are rounded to the nearest ten; some additional disclosure control has also been applied. 2. For disability living allowance the totals show the number of people in receipt of the benefit and excludes people with an underlying entitlement but whose payment has been suspended, for example because they are in hospital. 3. A claimant can be in receipt of more than one of these benefits and will therefore be counted for each benefit they receive. 4. Incapacity benefit was replaced by employment and support allowance from October 2008. 5. Figures for employment and support allowance are not included. 6. Constituencies used are for the Westminster Parliament of May 2010.  Source: DWP Information Directorate: Work and Pensions Longitudinal Study.

Work Programme

Charles Walker: To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions what steps he is taking to ensure that prisoners and ex-offenders are supported into employment through the Work Programme; and whether this objective will be included in contracts with prime contractors.

Chris Grayling: The Work Programme will provide more personalised back to work support for long-term unemployed individuals, and for those with more significant barriers to employment. We are currently working through the full implications of the spending review for the Work Programme and further announcements, including about support for ex-offenders, will be made in due course.
	DWP is also working closely with Ministry of Justice in developing options for improving cross-departmental co-operation to increase employment and reduce re-offending for individuals leaving prison and those serving community sentences.

Departmental Early Retirement

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many staff of  (a) his Department and  (b) its agencies have been offered enhanced early retirement packages in each of the last three years.

Bob Neill: The numbers of staff who left DCLG and its agencies with enhanced early retirement packages in each of the last three years is shown in the following table.
	
		
			   DCLG  Agencies 
			 2007-08 43 <5 
			 2008-09 11 9 
			 2009-10 27 <5 
		
	
	The data for the agencies, Planning Inspectorate, QEII Conference Centre, and the Fire Service College, has been combined owing to the very small numbers involved.

Social Rented Housing: Eltham

Clive Efford: To ask the Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government how many homes in Eltham constituency identified as eligible for improvements under the Decent Homes programme have not yet had such improvements made; and if he will take steps to ensure that funding for such improvements is made available to the London borough of Greenwich.

Andrew Stunell: The available data applies to the London borough of Greenwich and there is no breakdown by constituency. At April 2010, 4,947 council homes in the London borough of Greenwich did not meet the decent homes standard. This is forecast to fall to 392 by April 2011.
	In the spending review, the Government announced that they will spend £1.6 billion on tackling non-decent council housing. My Department and the Homes and Communities Agency will be consulting local authorities on the process for allocating capital funding shortly.

Directors: Fraud

Helen Jones: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer what mechanism he has put in place to prevent individuals setting up new businesses when their previous business has collapsed because of fraudulent activity.

Edward Davey: I have been asked to reply
	Our enforcement regime provides for the disqualification of directors of a limited company which has entered an insolvency procedure, if misconduct or reckless or fraudulent behaviour has been proved. A disqualification order prevents a person from acting in the management of a limited company for a period of between two and 15 years, depending on the seriousness of the misconduct. In 2009-10 more than five directors a day were disqualified. In addition, section 216 of the Insolvency Act 1986 places restrictions on the re-use of a company name by the same directors. Breach of the section is a criminal offence.
	If an individual wishes to set him or herself up in business in their own name (i.e. not under the guises of a limited company) then there are no restrictions in place, unless the individual is bankrupt or a debt relief order moratorium is in force.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether he has had discussions with the Scottish Executive on the future of end-year flexibility.

Danny Alexander: In the context of the Respect agenda, Treasury ministers meet with ministers from the Scottish Government from time to time to discuss issues of common interest. The issue of EYF was discussed at the most recent Finance Ministers Quadrilateral in September.

Public Expenditure: Scotland

Stewart Hosie: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer whether the Scottish Executive will retain access to end-year flexibility throughout the comprehensive spending review period.

Danny Alexander: The spending review announced that the EYF scheme is being abolished at the end of 2010-11, including all accumulated stocks, and replaced by a new system from 2011-12. In the context of developing the new system the Government recognises the special status of the Scottish Executive and the other devolved administrations. Further detail will be set out later this financial year.

Public Sector: Females

Valerie Vaz: To ask the Chancellor of the Exchequer if he will undertake an assessment of the likely effects on women of anticipated reductions in the number of jobs in the public sector in the next four years; and if he will make a statement.

Danny Alexander: On 20 October 2010 the Treasury published an overview of the impact of the spending review on men and women, people from ethnic minorities and people with disabilities.
	It will be for individual employers to determine the exact work force implications of their settlements. It is the responsibility of departments to ensure that equality issues are considered when assessing options for spending reductions.

Antisocial Behaviour Orders: Peterborough

Stewart Jackson: To ask the Secretary of State for the Home Department how many antisocial behaviour orders were  (a) made and  (b) breached in the Criminal Justice System area covering the Peterborough city council area in each year since 2005; and if she will make a statement.

James Brokenshire: Data collected centrally by the Ministry of Justice on the number of antisocial behaviour orders (ASBOs) issued and breached is collated at Criminal Justice System (CJS) area level.
	The latest figures cover the period to 31 December 2008, and show that for the Cambridgeshire CJS area, which includes Peterborough city council area:
	in 2005, 50 ASBOs were issued, and 13 were proved in court to have been breached for the first time;
	in 2006, 31 ASBOs were issued, and 14 were proved in court to have been breached for the first time;
	in 2007, 20 ASBOs were issued, and 13 were proved in court to have been breached for the first time; and
	in 2008, 34 ASBOs were issued, and 13 were proved in court to have been breached for the first time.

Doctors: Career Development

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what steps he plans to take to  (a) attract and  (b) retain good quality junior doctors in the NHS during the spending review period.

Anne Milton: Management of recruitment to postgraduate medical training is coordinated nationally through the Medical Programme Board of Medical Education England in partnership with Royal Colleges, deaneries, lead employers, the United Kingdom Foundation Programme Office and the General Practice National Recruitment Office. These arrangements have proved successful with high fill rates high for most specialties. Medical training is highly competitive with large numbers of doctors competing for vacancies each year. Some trainees do leave training programmes for a variety of reasons, but there is no evidence that this is an increasing trend.
	For the longer term, the Department has committed to publishing a consultation on proposals for education and training, based on the principles in the White Paper.

Health Services: Greater Manchester

Julie Hilling: To ask the Secretary of State for Health what estimate he has made of the likely effect on the number of NHS  (a) frontline staff and  (b) junior doctors working in Bolton, Bolton West and Greater Manchester areas of the outcomes of the comprehensive spending review.

Simon Burns: The Government have already signalled their commitment to real year-on-year increases in funding and the need to protect front line services.
	Making highly skilled, professional staff redundant does not make the best use of limited national health service resources-nor does it benefit patients. Therefore, it should be considered only when all other options have been exhausted.
	It is local health care organisations, with their knowledge of the health care needs of their local populations, that are best placed to determine the work force required to deliver safe patient care within their available resources.

NHS: Redundancy

Angela Eagle: To ask the Secretary of State for Health if he will make an estimate of the likely cost to the NHS of staff redundancy as a result of the spending reductions proposed in the comprehensive spending review.

Simon Burns: The Government have announced that administration costs will reduce by a third in real terms across the public sector, including the health sector, and this was reaffirmed in the spending review.
	This reduction in administration costs is expected to lead to some redundancies. However the number of redundancies will be closely affected by how the one-third reduction will be distributed across all organisations in the health sector, including primary care trusts, strategic health authorities, the Department and its arms' length bodies; and to what extent staff numbers and costs in all these bodies reduce through natural wastage or redeployments.
	We intend to set out estimates of the cost of redundancies associated with the reduction in administration and management costs in an impact assessment.

CJD: Research

Jeremy Corbyn: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills for what research projects into Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease the Medical Research Council has provided funding in each of the last three years; and what the outcomes of those projects were.

David Willetts: The Medical Research Council (MRC) has funded basic research into transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs) including Creutzfeldt Jakob disease (CJD) since the late 1970s. The MRC continues to fund research across the spectrum from basic biological studies through to applied clinical research.
	In the last three years, MRC expenditure on TSE was as follows:
	2007/08: £6.8 million
	2008/09: £8.9 million
	2009/10 : £9.9 million.
	Much of this research is conducted by the MRC Prion Unit, an international centre of excellence focussing principally on human prion disease, as well as through other TSE researchers working in universities throughout the UK. As this research is still ongoing, it is too early to report on outcomes. MRC welcomes proposals in all areas of TSE research and particularly in the development of new diagnostic tests and therapeutics. In addition, MRC encourages TSE research that may also inform on the basic mechanisms of other neurodegenerative disorders.
	A list of the relevant research projects that have received MRC funding, between 2007/8 and 2009/10 is below. Further information on these projects, as well as other research supported by the MRC can be found at:
	http://www.mrc.ac.uk/ResearchPortfolio/index.htm
	
		
			  Reference  Principal investigator  Research organisation  Research project 
			 G0301136 Professor V H Perry University of Southampton Prion strains and behaviour 
			 G0501636 Dr V 0 Connor University of Southampton Molecular and cellular basis of synaptic dysfunction in the ME7 model of prion disease (TSE highlight) 
			 G0600953 Professor J Ironside University of Edinburgh The NCJDSU Tissue Resource: support for continued banking activities 
			 G0700640 Professor J Manson BBSRC Roslin Institute Assessing the risk of transmission of vCJD via blood transfusion and identifying potential for diagnosis and prevention 
			 G0700877 Dr S Tabrizi Institute of Neurology Cellular mechanisms of prion-mediated neurodegeneration 
			 G0701068 Mrs C F Farquhar University of Edinburgh Refining the clinical use of pentosan polysulphate for TSEs: animal models of intravenous infection and intervention 
			 G9824728 Professor N Hooper University of Leeds Amyloid precursor protein and prion protein: cellular functions, processing and roles in neurodegeneration 
			 G0802189 Professor N M Hooper University of Leeds Alzheimers and prion diseases: cellular and genetic mechanisms of neurodegeneration 
			 G0900580 Professor J Ironside University of Edinburgh The NCJDSU Tissue Resource: support for continued banking activities 
			 U105260794 Professor S M Bird MRC Biostatistics Unit Transmissible disease epidemiology and statistical science in public health, criminal justice and performance monitoring 
			 U122886350 Professor J Collinge MRC Clinical Trials Unit Communicable diseases - human prion disease and malaria 
			 U123160651 Dr S Mead MRC Prion Unit Human molecular genetics and bioinformatics 
			 U123160652 Dr S E Lloyd MRC Prion Unit Prion genetic modifiers in the mouse 
			 U123160653 Dr E A Asante MRC Prion Unit Transgenic modelling of human prion diseases, intermammalian transmission barriers and assessing candidate therapeutics 
			 U123160654 Professor G Mallucci MRC Prion Unit Normal cellular function of PrP: study of PrP null mice and conditional gene expression studies 
			 U123160655 Dr J Wadsworth MRC Prion Unit Molecular and phenotypic analysis of human prion strains 
			 U123160656 Professor A R Clarke MRC Prion Unit Structural studies of prion proteins and their ligand interactions 
			 U123160657 Professor M Alpers MRC Prion Unit Kuru Field Studies in Papua New Guinea 
			 U123170362 Dr G S Jackson MRC Prion Unit Molecular diagnostic strategies in prion disease 
			 U123182016 Dr P Klein MRC Prion Unit Cellular mechanisms of prion propagation 
			 U123192748 Professor J Collinge MRC Prion Unit Prion kinetics, toxicity and synthesis and its wider relevance 
			 U132692719 Professor G Mallucci MRC Toxicology Unit In vivo models of disease and toxicity in the nervous system

Innovation

Chi Onwurah: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills what powers and responsibilities the Technology Strategy Board will have in relation to his proposed innovation centres.

David Willetts: The overall network of centres will be established and overseen by the Technology Strategy Board but individual centres will have a high degree of autonomy so they can respond to business needs.
	The Technology Strategy Board will work with industry, stakeholders, and wider government to identify the priority areas and governance structure for the elite network of Technology and Innovation Centres by April 2011.

Skills Funding Agency: Manpower

Andrew Griffiths: To ask the Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills how many staff are employed by the Skills Funding Agency specifically to work on communications and campaigns; and what recent discussions he has had with the Chief Executive of the Agency on this level of staffing.

John Hayes: Decisions about the number of staff within the Skills Funding Agency who work on communications and campaigns are an operational matter for Geoff Russell, the chief executive of Skills Funding. I have therefore asked him to reply direct to my hon. Friend.
	I have not had any recent discussions with the chief executive of Skills Funding on the number of Skills Funding Agency staff working in these areas. However, as is the case with all public bodies, the Skills Funding Agency is being streamlined. It is already making an 11% additional saving in 2010-11 and will be expected to make further significant savings to its administrative costs over the spending review period.

Joint Strike Fighter F-35 Fighters

Bob Ainsworth: To ask the Secretary of State for Defence how many Joint Strike Fighter F-35 fighters he plans to order; and what timescale he has set for their entry into service.

Peter Luff: I refer the hon. Member to the answer I gave on 3 November 2010,  Official Report, columns 852-53W, to the hon. Members for Glenrothes (Lindsay Roy), North Durham (Mr Kevan Jones) and Moray (Angus Robertson).

Prisons: Wales

Ian Lucas: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice what recent discussions he has had with the Secretary of State for Wales on proposals for the construction of a prison in North Wales.

Crispin Blunt: My right hon. Friend the Secretary of State for Wales (Mrs Gillan) has discussed the provision of prison places in north Wales with both myself and ministerial colleagues.
	The Ministry of Justice (MoJ) is committed to publishing a Green Paper on Rehabilitation and Sentencing, consulting on our longer-term plans for offender management. Following this the MoJ will re-evaluate its strategy for prison capacity.